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NIRSA partners with other higher ed associations to co-sponsor the inaugural Learning Reconsidered Institute in St. Louis

Coming in June: the first-ever conference to help institutions implement the landmark publications

NIRSA, as a partner with the Student Affairs in Higher Education Consortium (SAHEC), is proud to co-sponsor the inaugural Learning Reconsidered Institute, to be held June 6-7, 2007 in St. Louis, Missouri. The complete list of co-sponsoring SAHEC associations includes the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), American College Personnel Association (ACPA), Association of College and University Housing Officers – International (ACUHO-I), Association of College Unions International (ACUI), the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA), and NIRSA.

The Learning Reconsidered publications have reshaped the way higher education and student affairs educators look at our work with students. Student learning outcomes, developing a campus curriculum, assessing overall learning, and examining how higher education impacts the lives of our students have all been captured in Learning Reconsidered (LR) and Learning Reconsidered 2 (LR2). The Learning Reconsidered Institute has been created to help student affairs educators implement LR concepts, identify new ways to link current work to student learning, and support student affairs educators in the education and preparation of the whole student.

The June 2007 “working” Institute will allow participants the chance to learn from the LR experts, campuses who are using LR by implementing the ideas and concepts to connect student learning throughout the whole campus. Invited workshop sessions will cover the following topics:

• Mapping the Learning Environment
• Developing Learning Outcomes
• Assessing Internal Environments
• Integrating Learning Reconsidered in Strategic Planning
• Enhancing Professional Development
• Putting Learning Reconsidered into Practice
• Creating Strategies for Collaboration

During the Institute, campuses will have a chance to showcase what they have been doing with Learning Reconsidered. The LR Institute planning team is seeking poster session submissions from educators who have successfully implemented LR on their campuses. Each co-sponsoring association will be responsible for presenting two workshops that would meet the needs of either their particular association membership or the general student affairs population. In NIRSA’s case, this could allow for a connection with the recently established Student Learning Knowledge Community.

The LR Institute Keynote Speakers are Richard Keeling, Keeling and Associates, and Susan Komives, University of Maryland - College Park. The complete schedule, information about poster presentations, and pricing details are available on NASPA’s website. Online registration opens in early February.